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Great grandfather Bernard William or William Bernard McKEOWN

DownDown (Down)

All I know of my great grandfather Bernard William or William Bernard McKeown - born about 1844, possibly in Co Down, parents William McKeown (a farmer) and ELizabeth Bridget Cullen.

He was living apart from his family at the time of his death on 2May1896 at Toowoomba in Queensland. He was buried in Toowoomba, no headstone.

What he was doing in Toowoomba we don't know. He had left his family - wife Agnes Bridget REIDY (Reedy and Ready) and five young children in NSW.

Previously he had lived/worked as overseer on a plantation, on an island, possibly Tonga, in the 'South Seas' - no record of his marriage to Miss Reidy found in Australia or the Pacific area.

He was educated, spoke several languages, and was living apart from his family when he died.

The only documentation I can find is his death certificate - see below. There is NO photo of him.

Wife Agnes buried Rookwood Independent Cemetery in Sydney. I do have a photo of Agnes.

Armchair Genie McKEOWN

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Not sure how this email relates to my family but I do know that the Cullens are a sept of Clan Gordon and there were and still are Gordons in Toowoomba Qld but not too sure they are direct relations  I am looking for John Charles Gordon b 1837-8 and his family probably from downpatrick Co. Down

regards Aqua15

IrelandXO member

Hi Aqua15,

Sadly I know nothing of the Cullen family mentioned above except the surname Cullen was the maiden name of my gt gt grandmother Elizabeth Bridget who was the wife of William McKeown. Their son Bernard William/William Bernard born about 1844 was my gt grandfather.

Good luck with your research

 

Armchair Genie McKEOWN

No censuses exist in Ireland for the time you are looking at. Statutory birth registration did not start till 1864, so we won?t find a birth certificate for William Bernard or his parents.  An alternative source is Griffiths Valuation (1848 ? 1864) which was a summary of most householders. Nearly all farmers would be listed, so if William McKeown was still alive at that time he ought to be there. The records for Co Down mostly relate to 1863 or thereabouts. There are 10 William McKeown households, in a total of 7 parishes. If you are sure Wm Bernard came from Down, and you know his denomination, you could then search those parishes for his baptism.

Not all baptisms are on-line and you may need to go to PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast to access all the relevant records.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch

http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/research_and_records_held/catalogues_guid…

Ahoghill AntrimIrelandXO Volunteer

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